God’s Process: Prayer and Spiritual Development

Longing is a part of our lives as Christ’s followers. Often frustration accompanies it in between the time we have a God-vision and experience it coming to fruition. We place our faith in God, often for a specific outcome, anticipating the outward manifestation of all we have previewed in our imagination.

However, the way that God transports us to a place He may have revealed doesn’t always align with how we think we will get there. Nonetheless, we pray, we proclaim the Scripture, and we make plans and create space to welcome all that He has promised.

Hope is built into the verse that defines and describes our most basic understanding of what it means to believe (Hebrews 11:1). We apply the same principle of apprehending the unseen when we confess Christ and convert from our sinful state.

The process of our spiritual development is challenged when faith is stretched by other factors, such as time and circumstance. They buffet our belief and weary our resolve, complicating what seemed simpler at one point in our journey. Sometimes, our faith flounders along the way, but God never abandons us.

As Beginning and End, our Everlasting Father remains committed to the destination and the long path between prayer and manifested promise (Revelation 22:13; Isaiah 9:6). He is not daunted by time, as He created it to serve His purposes. Additionally, He fashions circumstances to work together for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28). Here, in the meantime seasons, He purifies, prunes, and develops patience in us. He processes us, preparing us for what’s next.

God’s Process of Spiritual Development

After decades of longing and years of waiting on a promised son, God tested Abraham, commanding him to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22). It seemed incomprehensible, but Abraham remained confident in the Lord.

The same God who defied the aged status of his and Sarah’s bodies was mighty enough to resurrect and restore life. Abraham proceeded, preparing to sacrifice Isaac but before drawing his knife, God spoke. The Almighty saw Abraham’s obedience and stopped him from harming Isaac.

In this unlikely encounter, the Father revealed the purity of Abraham’s heart. While he had previously tried to produce God’s promises in his own strength, his present obedience demonstrated a willingness to surrender the gift to the Giver.

Abraham’s example inspires and encourages us in our own waiting. Like this father of faith, we may have experienced enough to realize the high cost of taking matters into our own hands is too expensive. Inevitably, sin will demand payment (Romans 6:23).

When we repent and turn from sin, the Blood of Jesus cleanses us (1 John 1:9). While we are forgiven, recovery from sin takes its toll on us in ways that may be obvious, but also in others that wound our souls where we don’t see.

Rebellion to God’s “no, not yet,” by going ahead of or around Him worsens our condition. Abraham’s process attests that it’s better to wait on the Father who knows best. He crafts the purpose of circumstances and timing of each season to mature us, offer insight, and furnish the ability to handle the best of all He has prepared.

Purify

Scriptural imagery summons the potent metaphor of fire, and the process of trial, to drain off elements that tarnish our ability to see clearly Jesus. In this context, metalsmiths would heat precious metals such as gold until dross or impurities surfaced.

Until one’s reflection was revealed with increasing clarity, the artisan would continue to engage in this process of heating and removing the impurities and undesirable metals that had risen to the surface. Similarly, God refines us until Christ is reflected. He wants nothing impure to remain or obstruct the brightness of His glory being showcased through us.

in spiritual development, with every blessing, there are benefits, and we often look forward to those as they represent the highlight reels of what we desire. With each promise, there is also another side. It is our responsibility that we don’t anticipate and factor into the requests we petition with the Lord. Often, it appears as compounded pressure of human scrutiny and problems that ensue with spiritual warfare in new territories and seasons.

It’s easy to celebrate what we perceive as the spotlight, but in truth, they require deep-pocket investments of time and sacrifice. God repurposes difficulty as a spiritual development tool, training us to steward and serve well, even when we can’t foresee the future demand of fulfilled prayers and promises.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. – Romans 8:29, NIV

Prune

God doesn’t only remove what is unfruitful, but He also trims areas of our lives where we may be productive beyond imagination. Pruning can sometimes feel as excruciating as the removal of areas that He roots out to purify by His consuming fire. Though it hurts, it requires Holy Spirit revelation to recognize that God is enlarging our capacity to be more fruitful, showcasing His glory.

As in the natural, botanical world, so it follows in the spiritual. Pruning pinches back parts of our lives that will flourish afterward. Through pruning, the Lord redirects His life-giving power to parts of our lives that will yield a greater return.

The pain that emerges through purification and pruning is real, and we will feel its intensity. However, pain is not something for us to run from or even reject. It is a legitimate part of our experiences as humans and believers, but God retools it to accomplish His aims.

The pain associated with times of testing and delayed answers to prayer can be repurposed. It draws us deeper into intimate fellowship with the Lord, producing greater personal and spiritual growth than what may have envisioned for ourselves.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. – John 15:2, ESV

Patience

The wait is arduous, tempting us to give up on what we first believed and prayed for. When we are weary, having suffered discouragement, disenchantment, and disconnection, we may even be tempted to abandon our prayer petition.

When it seems that God hasn’t spoken or isn’t hearing us, we may wonder if we are on the right path or if we should deviate and make a different plan. Trials aren’t designed to divide our hearts from God but to develop patience or perseverance that grows the faith that pleases God and facilitates our spiritual development.

We don’t learn patience by quietly observing our lives from the sidelines. Instead, the Holy Spirit calls us into the full game, and the tournament is on. Training occurs on the go, and we develop mature fruit and character by participation, and being fully immersed in God’s process.

In difficulty, whether by time or circumstance, the Holy Spirit purifies us to make us more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit works in the present to deepen our intimacy with Him. He develops us that the fruit of our lives carries the sweet aroma of Christ’s presence.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4, NIV

Next Steps in Spiritual Development

It is what happens in the meantime that threatens to steal, kill, and destroy what God has promised and what you have prayed. However, this is also where Jesus stands firm in His promise to give you abundant life (John 10:10). Although you may have taken practical steps to manifest what you want to see, trust that God is breathing on and blessing your efforts.

You may need additional support and an empathetic perspective to encourage you. Search the resources on this site, select a counselor, and schedule to meet. You will find what you need to embrace God’s process for your spiritual development and destination.